The future of our democracy is at stake. A litany of what Trump has done: [View all]

Many, perhaps most of us here preferred candidates who have now dropped out. Joe Biden may not be as progressive on some issues and with a long history in Congress, he had some long-ago votes we may strongly disagree with. Times change and he may have evolved on some of those issues.

Regardless, the alternative is unspeakable -- four more years of Donald Trump, who has:

- Disbanded the national pandemic team and ignored early warnings, allowing hundreds of thousands to become infected needlessly, thousands who have already died (far more than in 9/11 attacks), and shut down our nation's economy
- Allowed our national stockpile to become depleted while selling vital medical supplies ovrerseas for profit
- As of yesterday the LA Times reports the National Guard has been sent to hospitals across the nation to seize ventilators, N95 masks and more. Are they being sold for profit or given out via political favoritism?
- Ripped immigrant children from their parents arms, separating thousands of families, many of them forever
- Called Mexicans rapists and murderers
- Rolled back DACA protections for young immigrants, robbing them of their futures
- Praised racists marching behind torchbearing Nazis in Charlottesville as "good people" on both sides
- Has placed white supremacists at high levels of government
- Has been accused of raping or sexually harassing dozens of women
- Bragged on tape about grabbing women by the pussy and forcing himself on them
- Wants to eliminate women's reproductive rights and equal pay
- Seeks to roll back protection for workers and destroy labor unions
- Has rolled back 50 years of environmental protections including clean and and water, allowing polluters to poison our nation
- Pulled the US out of the Paris climate change accord, going backwards, boosting production of coal, gas and oil when the very future of our planet is at stake
- Has wiped out farmers' futures with disastrous trade policies
- Has allowed nepotism and greed to permeate his administration, putting profits over lives
- Has had many of his top campaign and cabinet officials found guilty and imprisoned of serious crimes
- Is firing inspector generals who provide oversight of government spending
- Appointed agency heads who seek to destroy the mission of their agencies, from education to housing to the environment
- Cozies up to and praises dictators and authoritarian leaders in South Korea, the Phllippines and Russia
- Has traitorously put the national interests of Russia over the national interests of America
- Invited Russia to help him steal the 2016 election and has brazenly conspired to do so again in 2020
- Has blocked efforts to stop cyber hacking and rigging of the 2020 elections
- Ignored medical experts and provided non-scientific medical advice that can kill people
- Has sought to defund PBS and NPR, our national public broadcasting networks, and the arts
- Repeatedly rewards millionaires and billionaires at the expense of everyone else
- Has sought to cut or destroy Social Security, cut food stamps and other programs for the elderly ad poor
- Open insulted a disabled reporter and roll back protections for the disabled
- Kowtows to religious evangelical extremists who want America to be a theocracy
- Has stacked the Supreme Court and federal courts across America with right-wing judges whose decisions will last for a generation; we are one vote away from a staunchly conservative majority on the Supreme Court
- Actively undermined Obamacare/Affordable Healthcare Act, fought to weaken or destroy it in the courts, offered no health plan of his own, and refused to reopen enrollment in the AHA amid the current pandemic. He doesn't care if you live or die.

All of our lives, our families' lives, and the future of our planet are at stake. No matter what imperfections Joe Biden has, we must all stand together to support him and oppose Trump.

Biden may change on some issues over time. Even if he doesn't, he may choose a Vice President who will likely succeed him in 2024 or sooner if Biden's age or health makes it impossible to complete his first term. The House and Senate may shift to become more progressive, and President Biden may be persuaded to sign bills even if he didn't fully support everything in them. And even if none of that happens, the alternatives under four more years of Trump will be far worse. We likely would not have a democracy left, and perhaps not even a planet that is habitable. The choice could not be more clear: elect a decent human being, despite any flaws in he may have, or elect a sociopath bent on destroying us all.